Zoochat Big Year 2024

On my short trip to the coast of Weymouth, binoculars in hand, I managed to spot a few more birds (and inverts) along a coastal walk including a very loud flock of Skylark and a flock of Corn Bunting.

January 28th

Birds
70. Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla)
71. Eurasian Skylark (Alauda arvensis)
72. Corn Bunting (Emberiza calandra)
73. Great Black-Backed Gull (Larus marinus)
74. Mediterranean Gull (Ichthyaetus melanocephalus)
75. Brant (Branta bernicla)
76. Northern Pintail (Anas acuta)
77. Eurasian wigeon (Mareca penelope)

Inverts
3. Common Green Shieldbug (Palomena prasine)
4. European Black Slug (Arion ater)

Mammals
4. European Fallow Deer (Dama dama)

Total Species: 86
Birds: 77
Mammals: 4
Amphibians: 1
Invertebrates: 4
 
I felt the same way getting lifer Louisiana Waterthrush in AZ - although it is a much rarer bird down there
I saw the Louisiana Waterthrush in AZ too, at Madera Canyon. Being an Aussie I had never heard of the bird, and would have missed it, except another birder pointed it out.
 
Additions from a couple of days in Gloucestershire at Slimbridge and in the Forest of Dean. Plenty of lovely bird additions - but one notable absentee - this was the first visit to Slimbridge in about five years during which I didn't see a Water Rail, so that challenge remains for another day. On the other hand, for the second year running we arrived on the top of the Estuary Tower just after someone had picked up a Merlin. Slimbridge also again had a good line in random geese, with 'unknown origin' Lesser White-fronted and Snow Geese joining the Canada Goose flocks - too 'unknown origin' for me to count, though a straggler individual Brent Goose I was happy to include (being a common UK species, just unusual for the site).

No joy with seeing boar in the forest today - although we definitely heard some very loud pig squeals and bellows from the undergrowth at one point - just a bit too deep in the woods to make eye contact. This was consoled for by a cameo from a Bank Vole - a very common and visible species I somehow entirely missed last year (indeed I scored no voles at all in 2023).

Birds 90-104 were Slimbridge, the remainder of the birds and both the mammals were in the Forest of Dean.

108 is also my record UK bird total for January - though in 2022 I came close when I jumped from 103 to 110 on 1st February - courtesy of... Slimbridge!

Mammals:
8. European Fallow Deer - Dama dama
9. Bank Vole - Myodes glareolus

Birds:
90. Bewick's Swan - Cygnus columbianus
91. Eurasian Oystercatcher - Haematopus ostralegus
92. Black-tailed Godwit - Limosa limosa
93. Eurasian Curlew - Numenius arquata
94. European Golden Plover - Pluvialis apricaria
95. Ruff - Calidris pugnax
96. Dunlin - Calidris alpina
97. Merlin - Falco columbarius
98. Common Crane - Grus grus
99. Eurasian Skylark - Alauda arvensis
100. Brent Goose - Branta bernicla
101. Pied Avocet - Recurvirostra avosetta
102. Common Snipe - Gallinago gallinago
103. Greater White-fronted Goose - Anser albifrons
104. Great White Egret - Ardea alba
105. Hawfinch - Coccothraustes coccothraustes
106. Mistle Thrush - Turdus viscivorus
107. Mandarin Duck - Aix galericulata
108. Northern Raven - Corvus corax

:)
 
My first proper birding day of the year, a wonderful morning to be doing some birding in Sherbrooke Forest.

27/1/24 Sherbrooke Forest
31. Crimson Rosella (Platycercus elegans)
32. Striated Thornbill (Acanthiza lineata)
33. Grey Fantail (Rhipidura albiscapa)
34. Silvereye (Zosterops lateralis)
35. Superb Lyrebird (Menura novaehollandiae)
36. Yellow Faced Honeyeater (Lichenostomus chrysops)
37. Laughing Kookaburra (Dacelo novaeguineae)

28/1/24

38. New Holland Honeyeater (Phylidonyris novaehollandiae)

Fairly modest list, Yellow Faced Honeyeater and Lyrebird good to get early. Was hoping for something like a Bassian Thrush, Whipbird or Pilotbird but can’t complain with my best ever views of a lyrebird!

Birds:

30/1/24 Royal Park


39. Dusky Moorhen (Gallinula tenebrosa)
40. Bell Miner (Manorina melanophrys)

31/1/24 Nangak Tamboree

41. Australasian Swamphen (Porphyrio melanotus)
42. Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra)
43. Spotted Pardalote (Pardalotus punctatus)

Reptiles:

1. Common Garden Skink (Lampropholis guichenoti)
2. Southern Water Skink (Eulamprus tympanum)


Will do inverts in a seperate post, there is quite a lot!
 
Have been slightly remiss in updating - but not much seen, as still sorting out my new flat. I dipped a white-billed diver in Southend but saw a few other good things. In the coming weeks, hopefully I will get out a bit more.

Mammals
2. Red Fox
3. Grey seal

Birds
43. Meadow pipit
44. Long-tailed tit
45. Redwing
46. Brent goose
47. Ruddy turnstone
48. Sanderling
49. Razorbill
50. Mediterranean gull
51. Red-throated diver
52. Great northern diver
53. European shag

An early morning walk exploring the new local park picked up a few more odds and sods.

Birds
54. Common chiffchaff
55. Eurasian wren
56. Dunnock
57. House sparrow
58. European greenfinch
 
Mammals
1) Eurasian red squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris)

Birds

1) Canada goose (Branta canadensis)
2) Carrion crow (Corvus corone)
3) Common buzzard (Buteo buteo)
4) Great cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo)
5) Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)
6) Grey heron (Ardea cinerea)
7) House sparrow (Passer domesticus)
8) Common wood pigeon (Columba palumbus)
9) Common moorhen (Gallinula chloropus)
10) European robin (Erithacus rubecula)
11) Great tit (Parus major)
12) Black-headed gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus)
13) European herring gull (Larus argentatus)
14) Eurasian magpie (Pica pica)
15) Great spotted woodpecker (Dendrocopos major)
16) Western jackdaw (Coloeus monedula)

Mammals
1) Eurasian red squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris)

Birds

1) Canada goose (Branta canadensis)
2) Carrion crow (Corvus corone)
3) Common buzzard (Buteo buteo)
4) Great cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo)
5) Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)
6) Grey heron (Ardea cinerea)
7) House sparrow (Passer domesticus)
8) Common wood pigeon (Columba palumbus)
9) Common moorhen (Gallinula chloropus)
10) European robin (Erithacus rubecula)
11) Great tit (Parus major)
12) Black-headed gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus)
13) European herring gull (Larus argentatus)
14) Eurasian magpie (Pica pica)
15) Great spotted woodpecker (Dendrocopos major)
16) Western jackdaw (Coloeus monedula)
17) Eurasian kestrel (Falco tinnunculus)
 
Birds:

30/1/24 Royal Park


39. Dusky Moorhen (Gallinula tenebrosa)
40. Bell Miner (Manorina melanophrys)

31/1/24 Nangak Tamboree

41. Australasian Swamphen (Porphyrio melanotus)
42. Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra)
43. Spotted Pardalote (Pardalotus punctatus)

Reptiles:

1. Common Garden Skink (Lampropholis guichenoti)
2. Southern Water Skink (Eulamprus tympanum)


Will do inverts in a seperate post, there is quite a lot!

Fish

13. Eastern Mosquitofish (Gambusia holbrooki)


Invertebrates

1. European Honey Bee (Apis mellifera)
2. Goldentail Sugar Ant (Camponotus aeneopilosus)
3. Long Broad-headed Bug (Mutusca brevicornis)
4. South-eastern Austroicetes (Austroicetes vulgaris)
5. Eleven-armed Sea Star (Coscinasterias calamaria)
6. Five-armed Cushion Star (Parvulastra exigua)
7. Carpet Sea Star (Meridiastra calcar)
8. Social House Spider (Philoponella congregabilis)
9. Cabbage White (Pieris rapae)
10. Common Brown (Heteronympha merope)
11. Common Grass Blue (Zizina labradus)
12. Southern Moon Moth (Dasypodia selenophora)
13. Halone consolatrix (Moth)
14. Stepped Venus (Katelysia scalarina)
15. Impoverished Dogwhelk (Nassarius pauperatus)
16. Lineated Cominella (Cominella lineolata)
17. Zebra Top Shell (Austrocochlea porcata)
18. Alaba monile (Sea Snail)
19. Ribbed Top Shell (Austrocochlea constricta)
20. Zeacumantus diemenensis (Sea Snail)
21. Golden Small Star (Bellastraea aurea)
22. Common Warrener (Lunella undulata)
23. Bedeva vinosa (Sea Snail)
24. Bedeva paviae (Sea Snail)
25. Variegated Limpet (Cellana tranmoserica)
26. Striped False Limpet (Siphonaria diemenensis)
27. Cart Rut Shell (Dicathais orbita)
28. Pied Limpet (Patelloida latistrigata)
29. Australian Mud Whelk (Batillaria australis)
30. Black Nerite (Nerita atramentosa)
31. Chequered Top Shell (Chlorodiloma odontis)
32. Elephant Snail (Scutus antipodes)
33. Leathery Sea Slug (Onchidella nigricans)
34. Austral Ischnochiton (Ischnochiton australis)
35. Elongate Ischnochiton (Ischnochiton elongatus)
36. Stripe-mouthed Conniwink (Bembicum nanum)
37. Common Conniwink (Bembicum melanostomum)
38. Notoplana australis (Marine Flatworm)
39. Tau Emerald (Hemicordulia tau)
40. Blue Skimmer (Orthetrum caledonicum)
41. Orange Threadtail (Nososticta solida)
42. Wandering Percher (Diplacodes bipunctata)
43. Common Bluetail (Ischnura heterosticta)
 
Mammals
1) Eurasian red squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris)

Birds

1) Canada goose (Branta canadensis)
2) Carrion crow (Corvus corone)
3) Common buzzard (Buteo buteo)
4) Great cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo)
5) Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)
6) Grey heron (Ardea cinerea)
7) House sparrow (Passer domesticus)
8) Common wood pigeon (Columba palumbus)
9) Common moorhen (Gallinula chloropus)
10) European robin (Erithacus rubecula)
11) Great tit (Parus major)
12) Black-headed gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus)
13) European herring gull (Larus argentatus)
14) Eurasian magpie (Pica pica)
15) Great spotted woodpecker (Dendrocopos major)
16) Western jackdaw (Coloeus monedula)
17) Eurasian kestrel (Falco tinnunculus)

Mammals
1) Eurasian red squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris)

Birds

1) Canada goose (Branta canadensis)
2) Carrion crow (Corvus corone)
3) Common buzzard (Buteo buteo)
4) Great cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo)
5) Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)
6) Grey heron (Ardea cinerea)
7) House sparrow (Passer domesticus)
8) Common wood pigeon (Columba palumbus)
9) Common moorhen (Gallinula chloropus)
10) European robin (Erithacus rubecula)
11) Great tit (Parus major)
12) Black-headed gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus)
13) European herring gull (Larus argentatus)
14) Eurasian magpie (Pica pica)
15) Great spotted woodpecker (Dendrocopos major)
16) Western jackdaw (Coloeus monedula)
17) Eurasian kestrel (Falco tinnunculus)
18) Feral pigeon (Columba livia)
19) Eurasian blackbird (Turdus merula)
20) Eurasian collared dove (Streptopelia decaocto)
 
Only one new bird today which I gained whilst on a stroll through my local Woods,

Birds
78. Collared dove (Streptopelia decaocto)

Total Species: 87
Birds: 78
Mammals: 4
Amphibians: 1
Invertebrates: 4
 
After a week, I finally saw 2 new species today

Birds
34) Tufted Titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor)
35) Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura)

Total:
Mammals- 5
Birds- 35
Herptiles- 0
Heard-only Species- 3
As I left my house this morning, I saw a Hairy Woodpecker scanning my small Cherry Blossom Tree (it did not appear to be impressed.)

Birds
36) Hairy Woodpecker (Leuconotopicus villosus)

Total:
Mammals- 5
Birds- 36
Herptiles- 0
Heard-only Species- 2
 
An early morning walk exploring the new local park picked up a few more odds and sods.

Birds
54. Common chiffchaff
55. Eurasian wren
56. Dunnock
57. House sparrow
58. European greenfinch

A proper morning at Rainham Marshes produced a good number of new birds for the year - finally a real birding expedition!

59. Common shelduck
60. Northern pintail
61. Little grebe
62. Collared dove
63. Pied avocet
64. Northern lapwing
65. Eurasian curlew
66. Common snipe
67. Common redshank
68. Great black-backed gull
69. Little egret
70. Western marsh harrier
71. Eurasian sparrowhawk
72. Common buzzard
73. Common kestrel
74. Eurasian jackdaw
75. Rook
76. Eurasian skylark
77. Cetti's warbler
78. European stonechat
79. Common reed bunting
 
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